I actually listened to Roy Orbison's "Bye Bye Love" a few days ago, but I got thinking about it again this morning. I'd forgotten that his melody is slightly different compared to the Everly Brothers' version (which is the well-known version). Orbison's version is from 1960, and the Everly Brothers' is from 1957, so theirs pre-dates Orbison's, but I think the way Orbison changed the melody improves the song.
In the Everly Brothers' version, "Bye bye, happiness" and "Hello, loneliness" are sung to the same D, D, C#, B, A phrase, but Orbison has a different melody for each. He sings "Bye bye, happiness" to that same D, D, C#, B, A phrase, but he sings "Hello, loneliness" to the phrase D, D, C#, A, F#. Not only does it make the song a bit more interesting (because there's a new phrase, not just the same one repeated), but it also outlines an F# minor chord (F#, A, C#) and since the song is in A major (for which F# minor is the relative minor), that outline emphasizes the sadness described in the lyrics.
